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edebell's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide attempt
turbotango's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thoughtful and full of suspense, Grayshade unfolds like a riddle and then goes for the throat. Highly recommended, especially for fans of cloak & dagger fantasy.
wokeupolder's review against another edition
4.0
I received an eARC copy of this book from NetGalley and Atthis Arts in exchange for a review.
4/5 stars.
Who doesn't love a good story about assassins, mystery, conspiracy and revenge? Grayshade ticks all those boxes in what is an action-packed first entry of what should become a very exciting trilogy.
This book follows the accomplished assassin Grayshade, as he carries out the orders of his religion, the Order of Argoth, in the city of Cohrelle. Our protagonist is highly skilled and meticulous in their work, but from the outset, we can see that something is amiss. But is this just an unlikely occurance, or is there a greater conspiracy at play?
Grayshade explores the intricacies of religion, mentorship and loyalty as he tries to come to terms with what is happening around him. He comes to second guess himself, and many of his close acquaintances, his rivals and even his victims. Despite the amount of killing he has done, in the name of his order, Grayshade begins to become more perceptive of the world, and people, around him as the plot unfolds.
This book is pretty much non-stop action from the first page, and it is all very well done. There are some great action scenes, and the weaponry and tactics used by the assassins are very interesting. Secondary characters were also really likeable, particularly Caoesthenes, who provides a lot of information on the Order of Argoth, but also some comic relief in an otherwise dark story.
I do think however that the story could do with some extra worldbuilding, a few extra pages would have really helped to flesh out the city of Cohrelle or the various religions or institutions in the city. Also, the introduction of some new characters always felt a bit convenient, in that there was no foundation set for them, they just appear or are thought about when the plot required them.
Overall this is a worthwhile read, especially if you like dark fantasy with a lot of political maneuvering. I found a strong similarity between this book and We Men of Ash and Shadow by H L Tinsley, and it also reminded me of chapters involving Glokta from The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie.
Some favourite quotes:
"Everyone talks about how many people die in war - but I've always been more impressed with how many live."
"The sweeter the melody, the falser the memory."
4/5 stars.
Who doesn't love a good story about assassins, mystery, conspiracy and revenge? Grayshade ticks all those boxes in what is an action-packed first entry of what should become a very exciting trilogy.
This book follows the accomplished assassin Grayshade, as he carries out the orders of his religion, the Order of Argoth, in the city of Cohrelle. Our protagonist is highly skilled and meticulous in their work, but from the outset, we can see that something is amiss. But is this just an unlikely occurance, or is there a greater conspiracy at play?
Grayshade explores the intricacies of religion, mentorship and loyalty as he tries to come to terms with what is happening around him. He comes to second guess himself, and many of his close acquaintances, his rivals and even his victims. Despite the amount of killing he has done, in the name of his order, Grayshade begins to become more perceptive of the world, and people, around him as the plot unfolds.
This book is pretty much non-stop action from the first page, and it is all very well done. There are some great action scenes, and the weaponry and tactics used by the assassins are very interesting. Secondary characters were also really likeable, particularly Caoesthenes, who provides a lot of information on the Order of Argoth, but also some comic relief in an otherwise dark story.
I do think however that the story could do with some extra worldbuilding, a few extra pages would have really helped to flesh out the city of Cohrelle or the various religions or institutions in the city. Also, the introduction of some new characters always felt a bit convenient, in that there was no foundation set for them, they just appear or are thought about when the plot required them.
Overall this is a worthwhile read, especially if you like dark fantasy with a lot of political maneuvering. I found a strong similarity between this book and We Men of Ash and Shadow by H L Tinsley, and it also reminded me of chapters involving Glokta from The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie.
Some favourite quotes:
"Everyone talks about how many people die in war - but I've always been more impressed with how many live."
"The sweeter the melody, the falser the memory."
tenthmuze's review
3.0
Having been an avid reader of fantasy since my days as a child, I’ve gotten the opportunity to explore a wide variety of worlds and stories. From the heavy adventurer-focus of the Forgotten Realms books to the sardonic and dry wit of Discworld, all the way to the unique and unforgettable worlds of Sanderson’s Mistborn and Stormlight Archive series, fantasy fans have a wide breadth of choices for settings, characters, and worlds. It is partially due to this that authors have a choice to make when setting out the goals of their story and characters; do I try to expand the genre and write something never seen before, or do I write in the reader’s comfort zone and give them an enjoyable take on something they’ve seen before? Both of these options have their pros and cons, and we’ve seen fantastic series that follow both schools of thought. I mentioned Sanderson’s collections of stories as being an exemplar of building something completely fresh and new for a reader, and one need only look so far as Sullivan’s Riyria stories for how an author can take well-tread tropes and make them enjoyable without feeling like they’re pandering.
Grayshade and the world it takes place in attempts to fulfill both options. It is the second release in the brand new fantasy setting of Stormtalons, a series of 150 planned novels from a wide variety of writers. I’d like to take a second immediately after mentioning that to say, “Oh. My. God. That is a LOT of books.” Grayshade in particular is the first book in the self-contained The Gray Assassin trilogy. If the respective titles of the book and the trilogy it is contained within didn’t tip you off, let me do the honors. Grayshade is a book about an assassin of the same name. He is an Acolyte of Argoth, the god of justice, and has for his entire life been a member of this order. We begin the book with Grayshade on a mission to assassinate a target, jumping directly into the action and never really stopping from there. Throughout the course of this book we learn more about the city of Cohrelle and the various religious orders that are contained within, as well as getting a look into a formative moment of Grayshade’s life and development as a character.
If this sounds like a well-trod path in other stories...well, it is. Following an assassin, or any character of nefarious profession, as they develop from a morally indifferent character to someone who takes a stand for their values and virtues is a trope that I’m positive everyone reading this blog has encountered at some point. I certainly don’t mean to paint that as a bad thing, necessarily. Tropes are tropes for a reason, and having something immediately familiar to readers as a touchstone into a brand new fantasy world and setting is very helpful in allowing the reader to place their focus on learning how this new world works without having to spend a great deal of mental energy on trying to understand where the main character is coming from. I think that Gregory A. Wilson does a good job in this novel of telling a satisfying, if familiar, story in a brand new world. I enjoyed Grayshade’s inner monologues and the way he went about his work to an impressive extent.
That being said, there were some things that started to get under my skin as the story went on, and kept me from truly losing myself in the reading. While I understand that Grayshade takes place in an entirely new setting, there were a great deal of names for objects and substances that seemed purposefully vague and opaque. At the 20% mark of the book (I read this as a Kindle ARC) there was the following line, “I laughed. ‘It’s rivid gas, first of all, not rethel. Rethel gas wouldn’t dissipate that quickly.’” What does this actually tell me about these substances? That they’re both dangerous and that one dissipates more quickly than the other. What this doesn’t tell me is why these substances are dangerous. Are they flammable? Poisonous? Do they explode? Are they acidic? I would have a much healthier respect for the substance if I actually knew what it did. This is a consistent issue I had with the book, whether it’s describing dangerous gasses, or never really describing what the “darts” that Grayshade uses in his missions look like. I want to know whether he’s talking about throwing knives or stars, whether they have a flat blade or are more like a stiletto. No, this doesn’t ruin the book, and no it isn’t a catastrophic error, but it’s a small thing that would have made it easier for me to fall into the story had it been addressed. It’s also an easy way to flesh out the world and setting that I thought was a missed opportunity.
The other issue, and a bigger one in my opinion, is that the pacing of the second half of the novel felt off to me. Major events came out of nowhere and were handled in a page or two, while Grayshade’s travels through the districts and inner monologues were given entire chapters. The final showdown between Grayshade and his enemies was, while exciting and fun, over very quickly and without the fanfare it deserved. I was hoping for an epic showdown and was treated to a quick knife in the back. I felt let down at the end, which isn’t a note you want to end on in the first book of a trilogy.
Grayshade is a book that reminds me of so many other fantasy novels I’ve read. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. As I said earlier when I mentioned the “assassin with a moral compass” thing, tropes are essentially a gray area (see what I did there?) in storytelling. They’re not good or bad by default, as they’re essentially just references to experiences the reader has had before. What makes or breaks them is how they’re used. Grayshade has both the good and bad. It’s great that the book provides an easy to understand touchstone into this new world with a perfectly functional take on a story we’ve heard before, and bad that it relies on previous experiences for basic things like the gas issue I mentioned earlier. I think this is essentially the chicken noodle soup of fantasy. You’re not going to be blown away, and this isn’t going to be the best you’ve ever had, but you can’t go wrong with Grayshade if what you’re looking for is something familiar and satisfying.
Rating: Grayshade - 7.0/10
(This review was originally posted on The Quill to Live: https://thequilltolive.com/2016/10/20/grayshade-1-shade-of-gray/)
Grayshade and the world it takes place in attempts to fulfill both options. It is the second release in the brand new fantasy setting of Stormtalons, a series of 150 planned novels from a wide variety of writers. I’d like to take a second immediately after mentioning that to say, “Oh. My. God. That is a LOT of books.” Grayshade in particular is the first book in the self-contained The Gray Assassin trilogy. If the respective titles of the book and the trilogy it is contained within didn’t tip you off, let me do the honors. Grayshade is a book about an assassin of the same name. He is an Acolyte of Argoth, the god of justice, and has for his entire life been a member of this order. We begin the book with Grayshade on a mission to assassinate a target, jumping directly into the action and never really stopping from there. Throughout the course of this book we learn more about the city of Cohrelle and the various religious orders that are contained within, as well as getting a look into a formative moment of Grayshade’s life and development as a character.
If this sounds like a well-trod path in other stories...well, it is. Following an assassin, or any character of nefarious profession, as they develop from a morally indifferent character to someone who takes a stand for their values and virtues is a trope that I’m positive everyone reading this blog has encountered at some point. I certainly don’t mean to paint that as a bad thing, necessarily. Tropes are tropes for a reason, and having something immediately familiar to readers as a touchstone into a brand new fantasy world and setting is very helpful in allowing the reader to place their focus on learning how this new world works without having to spend a great deal of mental energy on trying to understand where the main character is coming from. I think that Gregory A. Wilson does a good job in this novel of telling a satisfying, if familiar, story in a brand new world. I enjoyed Grayshade’s inner monologues and the way he went about his work to an impressive extent.
That being said, there were some things that started to get under my skin as the story went on, and kept me from truly losing myself in the reading. While I understand that Grayshade takes place in an entirely new setting, there were a great deal of names for objects and substances that seemed purposefully vague and opaque. At the 20% mark of the book (I read this as a Kindle ARC) there was the following line, “I laughed. ‘It’s rivid gas, first of all, not rethel. Rethel gas wouldn’t dissipate that quickly.’” What does this actually tell me about these substances? That they’re both dangerous and that one dissipates more quickly than the other. What this doesn’t tell me is why these substances are dangerous. Are they flammable? Poisonous? Do they explode? Are they acidic? I would have a much healthier respect for the substance if I actually knew what it did. This is a consistent issue I had with the book, whether it’s describing dangerous gasses, or never really describing what the “darts” that Grayshade uses in his missions look like. I want to know whether he’s talking about throwing knives or stars, whether they have a flat blade or are more like a stiletto. No, this doesn’t ruin the book, and no it isn’t a catastrophic error, but it’s a small thing that would have made it easier for me to fall into the story had it been addressed. It’s also an easy way to flesh out the world and setting that I thought was a missed opportunity.
The other issue, and a bigger one in my opinion, is that the pacing of the second half of the novel felt off to me. Major events came out of nowhere and were handled in a page or two, while Grayshade’s travels through the districts and inner monologues were given entire chapters. The final showdown between Grayshade and his enemies was, while exciting and fun, over very quickly and without the fanfare it deserved. I was hoping for an epic showdown and was treated to a quick knife in the back. I felt let down at the end, which isn’t a note you want to end on in the first book of a trilogy.
Grayshade is a book that reminds me of so many other fantasy novels I’ve read. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. As I said earlier when I mentioned the “assassin with a moral compass” thing, tropes are essentially a gray area (see what I did there?) in storytelling. They’re not good or bad by default, as they’re essentially just references to experiences the reader has had before. What makes or breaks them is how they’re used. Grayshade has both the good and bad. It’s great that the book provides an easy to understand touchstone into this new world with a perfectly functional take on a story we’ve heard before, and bad that it relies on previous experiences for basic things like the gas issue I mentioned earlier. I think this is essentially the chicken noodle soup of fantasy. You’re not going to be blown away, and this isn’t going to be the best you’ve ever had, but you can’t go wrong with Grayshade if what you’re looking for is something familiar and satisfying.
Rating: Grayshade - 7.0/10
(This review was originally posted on The Quill to Live: https://thequilltolive.com/2016/10/20/grayshade-1-shade-of-gray/)
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